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Political corruption affects each nation-state differently, but the outcomes are nominally the same: a deficit of public trust, weakened government institutions and undermined political systems.
This research received external funding from:
Over the past decade, Australia’s score on the Corruption Perceptions Index of Transparency International has fallen from 85 (2012) to 73 (2021), demonstrating that corruption in the country is rising. The authors of this paper are concerned that Australia is entering the early stages of what Rose-Ackerman described as “grand corruption”[1]. While Australian voters were promised a national anti-corruption commission during the 2019 elections, civil society reactions to the resulting 2020 CIC Bill were critical and the government bill was not introduced into Parliament for debate. The forthcoming general election in 2022 has also raised this institutional deficit.[2] Two other existing bills to establish an anti-corruption commission have also failed to materialise. While the authors deem it clear that there is a problem of corruption in Australia, they argue that there is a fundamental failure to appreciate this problem by Australian publicly elected officials in government. With this backdrop, this research paper investigates how political corruption is addressed in Australia.
[1] Rose-Ackerman, S. (1996) Democracy and ‘grand’ corruption, International Social Science Journal, 149 (48): 365-380
[2] Editorial (2022) Morrison shows bad faith in his hit job against ICAC, The Age, 18th April https://www.theage.com.au/politics/federal/morrison-shows-bad-faith-in-his-hit-job-against-icac-20220418-p5ae8w.html
Although anti-corruption measures are being taken on the multilateral level, Australian initiatives are not keeping up on the national level. The country risks falling behind in anti-corruption work and may end up being excluded from the dialogue and progress that is occurring internationally. While the CIC Bill does address some forms of corruption, it is far from aggressive enough to tackle the problem in an effective manner, as it does not introduce measures that instill the necessary culture of integrity in political institutions. Such a culture is necessary, as corruption is bigger than the reputational risk of a person that resorts to it; corruption is institutional.
The paper includes a section-by-section analysis of Australia’s proposed CIC bill, identifying the parts that are flawed in the pursuit of tackling political corruption.
The research was based upon a section-by-section legalistic document analysis of the proposed Australian 2020 Commonwealth Integrity Commission (CIC) Bill. The authors applied a National Integrity Ecosystem (NIE) Framework to conceptualize the bill’s relevance and place within the country’s existing push and pull levers of institutional integrity.
The research was limited mainly by being focused on Australia and a particular focus on a bill. Although some multilateral initiatives and exemplars from other countries are mentioned, this is not a comparative study. Research design limitations are thus mainly geographical and instrumental.
| Concept | Definition |
|---|---|
| National Integrity Ecosystem (NIE) Framework | Framework assembled by the authors that depicts the factors influencing the behavior of public officials. A figure of this framework is depicted on page 4 of the research paper: The policies of deregulation, neoliberalism, privatization and the role of the country’s elite networks influence the level of corruption. Institutions, state Independent Commission Against Corruptions (ICACs), the CIC bill, the UN Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), the Anti-Corruption Protocol of UNCAC (APUNCAC), and community culture and values influence the degree to which corruption impacts the behavior of public officials. These elements influence the degree of accountability, transparency, and integrity, which in turn influences the level of public trust in public officials and the government. |
dela Rama, M. J., Lester, M. E., & Staples, W. (2022). The Challenges of Political Corruption in Australia, the Proposed Commonwealth Integrity Commission Bill (2020) and the Application of the APUNCAC. Laws, 11(1), 7. https://doi.org/10.3390/laws11010007
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